These are fundamental steps toward more equitable, efficient Brazilian cities. Implementing such improvements will require investments. Using new sources of funding, such as green funds, for sustainable urban projects gives Brazil a new opportunity to reduce the current urban infrastructure gap.

WRI Brasil develops and replicates sustainable solutions for mobility, road safety, energy efficiency and urban development to create more equitable cities, improve quality of life, and foster an environment where people can live and thrive.

We support three large Brazilian cities (Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte, and Brasília) to implement BRT systems that benefit a million people, cutting in half the time spent in their daily travels. Working in Brazil for the past 12 years, we have developed planning methods and project criteria to technically support Brazilian cities in relation to road safety actions and the remodeling of urban areas to encourage sustainable mobility.

We have become partners with the federal government and Frente Nacional de Prefeitos (National Front of Mayors - FNP), partnerships that help give a national scale to our work. We work so that existing resources are used in sustainable urban infrastructure projects, which enhances human wellbeing throughout the country. Strengthening resilience and governance mechanisms by engaging the private sector and empowering public participation in mobility and urban development decision-making processes are some of the key aspects of our work. We work to fight poverty and ensure social inclusion based on actions that promote citizen participation in decision-making about the future of their cities.

What We Do

Sustainable Cities Facts

Transport sector in Brazil accounts for 46% of CO2 emissions of the energy sector. This percentage is about double of the world’s average. Given that mobility is responsible for around 60% of GHG emissions of Brazilian cities, the Ministry of Environment

Traffic jams in Brazilian cities cause huge economic losses, including a $31 billion loss just in the metropolitan regions of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro in 2013.

By 2019, more than 3 thousand Brazilian cities will be required by law to develop and implement plans that promote people-oriented, sustainable urban mobility, with emphasis on public and non-motorized transport.

Fifth-largest population in the world, with 207 million people, 86 percent of whom live in the urban areas of the country’s 5,500 cities.

Brazil needs to build safer streets and mobility systems to improve safety for pedestrians, cyclists, and vehicles in order to reduce the more than 40,000 yearly traffic fatalities and achieve the goal set by the Decade of Action for Road Safety.

Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) started in Brazil and currently benefits millions of people around the world.

Many citizens use walking and cycling as the main modes of transport in Brazil. Policies and investments in active mobility result in benefits for most people in terms of access to day-to- day employment, education and public services